Iron DeMan
by TomBAuthor93
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke's battle ended worse than it should have. Revived and given a second chance, Naruto quests to end the mindless violence that overcomes his world with the help of his inner demon and a forged set of armor...R&R
1. Forged

**Disclaimer: *Beep* Hello, readers, Jarvis here. Mr. Tommy B would like to inform you he does not own either the loveable manga Naruto nor does he own my employer, Iron Man, or myself. Jarvis, signing out. *beep***

**Iron De-Man**

**1: Forged**

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><p>"I...I win, dobe!" a black haired teenaged boy panted out as he pulled his hand from a blonde teenage boy's chest. The black haired teen was dressed in a navy blue shirt with a somewhat high collar and white shorts. On the back of his shirt was a red and white fan, the family crest of the infamous Uchiha Clan, making this teen the famed 'Last' Uchiha Sasuke, younger brother of his clan's murderer, Uchiha Itachi. His red eyes filled with tears and his three tomoed red eyes, known as the Sharingan, changed into solid black irises and the pupil mutated into a red atom shape.<p>

On the ground dying from his wound, laid his best friend, Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto clutched aimlessly at his chest, taking in large gasps for air and tears streamed down his whiskered cheeks. His blindingly orange jacket was torn and drenched with his own blood. Choked gasps came from his mouth and blood followed the raspy gasping. His hetai-ite, similar to Sasuke's with a metal plate and a swirl forming a leaf-like shape only there was not a giant slash through it, remained on his head only due to the fact he was lying on his back.

"W...Why?" the blonde managed to gasp out, his bright blue eyes quickly dulling as his life left him. The raven haired teen looked down at the dying boy with emotion vacant from his expression.

"Because...you're my friend," Sasuke said quietly, closing his eyes and clutched his friend's unmoving arm, "And I need power to kill my brother."

Naruto only watched with saddened and broken wide eyes as Sasuke slowly dragged him to the water. Too exhausted to even scream in outrage, he aimlessly drifted back to the thoughts concerning their third teammate, Haruno Sakura. The pink haired, enlarged forehead and equally enlarged anger issued girl would probably never forgive him for failing to return Sasuke back to their village.

His cerulean blue eyes widened in realization that he would never be returning home. He'd never see his lazy and perverted white haired, Cyclops of a sensei Hatake Kakashi (despite the fact he never taught him anything aside from tree-climbing) or his father-like academy teacher Umino Iruka (who always took the time to treat him to a bowl of ramen). His first friends in the Ichiraku ramen makers...never to eat their ramen again, the thought scared him. The boy's eyes widened when he realized he'd never see his motherly 'grandma' Tsunade or his sister-like friend Shizune and more tears began to fall as he faintly felt himself drift down the water.

"Goodbye, Uzumaki Naruto...you fought well, but the better man won today," Sasuke said quietly as his friend's corpse floated away. He then turned and walked away as the rain began to fall, cleaning him of the blood belonging to his best friend. He pulled the slashed headband from his forehead and tossed it to the ground, effectively abandoning his former home.

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><p>A little while later, a white haired man wearing the Konohagakure standard jonin garb appeared with a small brown pug wearing a Konohagakure no Sato headband and blue vest with a smiley face on it. The man blinked and looked around, scanning the area through the rain, but shortly became distraught when he couldn't find anything. The pug found something, and in a deep voice said, "Kakashi!"<p>

Kakashi turned towards the small dog and approached, finding him sitting on a Konohagakure headband. The man looked at the pug with a worried glance and the dog said, "It's Sasuke's...I can't find the blonde kid's scent...It ends at the bay. I'm sorry."

Kakashi clenched his hand around the headband and looked down to the ground. He shut his one visible eye and thanked Kami for the rain to conceal his tears as he thought, _I've failed you, sensei...I've failed again..._

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><p><em><strong>~~Kyuubi's Seal~~<strong>_

"**Insolent mortal!"** The great demon lord snarled to the very much unconscious teen before it as it gave him more and more chakra, **"Do you not understand that I wound you each time I heal you? That my abilities do far more harm than good?"**

Receiving no response from the unconscious teen, Kyuubi snorted and continued speaking down to its unconscious host, **"Then again, you are nothing but a fool. Perhaps I should heal you fully, let my chakra poison you, and then take this form as my own!"**

Upon thinking of doing exactly that, the seal glowed brightly once and a shock of pain coming to the Kyuubi. The giant beast snarled at the small tingle of pain and looked back at the boy with a scowl.

_**Even now, while unconscious, you refuse my power. Impressive...Perhaps there is something to gain from this development,**_ the Kitsune lord thought as a sinister smile came over its' face. _**I believe it's time I try a new form of 'living'. And this way...I will get you, **_**Madara**_**!**_

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><p><em><strong>~~A River Bordering Kaze no Kuni~~<strong>_

_Ah...another miserable day in the miserable heat,_ depressingly thought an middle-aged man with greying red hair before a small smile came over his face and he twitched his fingers, causing the wooden and metallic figure behind him to skitter along to his side, _Just how I like it!_

The man was none other than Sasori of the Sand, the fabled puppeteer of Sunagakure no Sato. While originally believed to have bastardized himself into some living puppet, that would actually be his illegitimate son, Sudoku of the Sand, who had stolen many of his puppets, including those of his mother and father (something that severely irked the puppet master) and even sealed his own heart into a piece for a puppet!

"I swear, if one more brigade of Suna Hunter Nin appears at my cave, I'll return to my old ways!" the redhead grumbled before a bright orange along the river caught his eye.

"Hm? What's this?" the puppeteer muttered as he approached the bank of the river. His eyes widened when he saw it was a young blonde boy floating down the river, his chest burst open in a large wound that seemed cauterized. Acting quickly, the redheaded puppeteer sent his scorpion-like puppet, not at all humanoid but built to look like a large Giant Scorpion, to save the boy. The scorpion quickly placed the boy on his back and skittered back to the Puppet Prodigy.

"Good job, Goliath!" Sasori complimented the puppet with a smile. He had actually given the puppet its own personality...which for some reason was that of a loyal dog. You know what they say about the desert heat, after all.

"Now, let's get back to the cave, shall we?" Sasori asked his puppet, jumping onto its back, adjusting the other passenger so they both fit comfortably on the back of the puppet. Sasori formed another set of chakra strings for his other hand and removed some from the hand he had been using before cracking them like whips, "Ya!"

Goliath skittered along quickly before soon enough they made it to the cave Sasori had reformed into a small home with enough room for three people, or a puppeteer and a human guest. Sasori had Goliath lay the boy on the couch before sending the puppet away to the corner of the room. The puppeteer then went to his work bench, occasionally rushing back and forth between his shelf and the boy, not really noticing his scorpion watch, the subtle jerking of its head from left to right being the only sign of the puppet's movements.

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><p><em><strong>~~Kyuubi's Cell~~<strong>_

The Fox grinned. This human, Sasori if it recalled correctly, would definitely be able to properly bond the meat sack to the Kyuubi. All Kyuubi had to do now was wake the damn gaki up!

_**Blast...nothing I try works!**_Kyuubi thought, irritated that its constant taunting and jeering at the boy did nothing to rouse him from his rest. An idea occurred to the Kitsune that it felt was ridiculous it hadn't tried before.

"**Well...I wonder..." **The Kitsune muttered, tapping a claw on its chin before it shrunk down to a human's size. The fox morphed again, forming a woman with long red hair, gorgeous maroon silk kimono and a very enormous bust size, bordering on H cups. With a smirk on 'her' ruby red lips, 'she' held her hand out and willed her chakra to create a bowl in her hand. Thinking back, Kyuubi changed her mind and simply chucked the bowl behind her before forging an illusion, packed with the power of THE Demon Lord's chakra, Kyuubi smirked.

_**If this doesn't do it, nothing will,**_ Kyuubi thought before crouching and slipping her hand through the bar, surprised she hadn't been shocked, and said, "Ki-i-i-it...I have some Ra-a-a-a-a-men..."

The boy's left leg twitched and she smirked before blowing the 'steam' from the 'bowl' directly into Naruto's nostrils.

In a flash, Naruto was awake and reaching for the ramen. Had Kyuubi not been aware of her container's speed when he wanted Ramen, she would have lost the illusion in her hand and a yelling match would have already begun.

"Gimme! Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Naruto chanted, reaching for the bowl before leaping for it. Kyuubi giggled, amused at the boy's actions, recalling a time not so long ago when another lifetime's kits had acted similar.

"Ah, ah, ah," the Kitsune Lord chided, putting two fingers on the blonde's forehead and causing him to stop leaping and reaching as his eyes went from the bowl to her own ruby orbs, "You didn't say please."

"GAH!" Naruto exclaimed, leaping back and grasping his chest. Upon doing so, he remembered the fight and began examining himself, finding only burns and scratches before narrowing his blue eyes and looking at the woman standing behind the bars.

"Hello, Kit," she purred, flicking her wrist and causing the illusion of a fresh bowl of ramen once in her hold to vanish, "About time you woke up."

"What are you doing, Baka-Kitsune?" the blonde replied, suspicion in his eyes as he stood defensively, "Trying to control my body again?"

"What? Oh, heavens no," the Kyuubi said, her smile doing nothing to make the blonde believe her, "But...I still want my own body...outside of this...wretched place you call a mind!"

"Well forget it!" Naruto shouted, flicking the Kyuubi off and keeping a glare locked on her, "I'm not gonna let you out, EVER!"

"Never?" Kyuubi asked incredulously.

"Never ever," Naruto confirmed.

"Never ever, ever?"

"Never ever, ever, ever, NEVER!"

"Well...that's an awfully long time being stuck in you," the woman said with a sigh, "But we'll have to make due, I guess. Wake up!"

* * *

><p><strong>~~Reality~~<strong>

Naruto shot up with a gasp as he woke. He immediately doubled over in pain and clutched at his chest, where a gaping hole still remained.

"Ah! Baka-gaki!" a voice said as shuffling earned his attention, "Your wound isn't healed! Stay down, baka!"

A hand gripped the blonde's left shoulder and shoved him to his back. Naruto yelped in pain at the movement, silently cursing the teme back home for doing this to him. For the first time in a long time, genuine tears came to the blonde's eyes, falling as the pain was unrivaled by anything he had ever felt.

"I said be still!" the voice said with urgency, "I've almost got my Chakra Stabilizing Converter ready. You really should be honored, gaki. You'll be the first human to have a puppet's heart within you."

"A-A-A W-What?" Naruto struggled to ask with coughs between his words. A pinch in his shoulder made him grunt in pain. He managed to turn his head to see a middle-aged man sticking a needle into his shoulder.

"Silence, gaki, just rest..." the man said with a small smile as the blonde's world faded into darkness.

A few hours later, Naruto groaned as he sat up. His chest hurt and his body felt like it was on fire.

"Ah, sleeping beauty finally awakens!" the man's voice from before said, making Naruto look in his direction. Sitting at a table tinkering with some sort of glove was a redheaded man with a small goatee on his face. Near him was a set of sake glasses and a bottle.

"W-Who are-Ah!" Naruto grunted as he clutched at his chest. He felt a smooth circular indent in his chest and the blonde looked down to see a glowing red orb between his teenaged pectoral muscles. Naturally, Naruto freaked out, "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?"

The man laughed at the blonde's reaction, making said blonde look at him and ask, "Where the hell am I? Who in Kami's name are you? Why won't you fucking answer me?"

"Calm yourself, gaki," the man said with a grin, "My name is Sabaku no Sasori as I am formally called, but you can call me Sasori-san or Sasori-sama, whichever you prefer. And might I say I'm impressed you have such a vast vocabulary."

"As for where you are, you are in my home," Sasori continued, easing the blonde's worries little by little, "And that device in your chest is keeping you alive. If you want me to remove it though..."

"No, no, no, no!" Naruto quickly replied, shaking his hands as human instinct to survive coupled with the angry ranting of an enraged demon echoing in his head made him accept this development, "I...Thank you, Sasori-san."

"Bah, think nothing of it," the esteemed puppeteer said with a wave of his hand before he poured himself a drink of sake, "Sake?"

"I'm too young," the blonde deadpanned. Sasori barked a laugh out and poured an extra glass anyway.

"Bah, no shinobi is too young for a drink! Old enough to kill, old enough to drink, they always say," he said before gesturing to the chair, "Come. Sit. I wish to discuss to you some things."

This intrigued the blonde, making him arch a brow in curiosity as he hopped off the table and stumbled over to the table, as though he hadn't walked in over three hundred years. Naruto sat with a grunt of relief, making the puppeteer grin as he offered the drink to the blonde, who steadily took it. Sasori raised the glass, gesturing for Naruto to do the same, before he continued.

"First, a celebration is in order," the redheaded man said with a grin, "To long life!"

"H-Hai," Naruto agreed before they both took a drink. Naruto coughed violently at the burning liquid that seemed to cool his body, Sasori laughed at the blonde's first encounter with rice wine. The blonde scowled at him before something occurred to him, "Are you related to Sabaku no Gaara?"

This made Sasori blink out of his laughter before rubbing his jaw, "Herm...Name sounds familiar, but I don't recall anyone in my family with that name. He might be a distant relative...unless we're discussing the jinchuriki of Shukaku."

"That's him!" Naruto said while pointing at the puppeteer master. Sasori laughed and took another drink.

"Ah, that little bugger...humph, he might just be my nephew. I don't know," the puppeteer admitted with a shrug, "Hadn't been to Suna in over...was it twenty years now?"

"Twenty years?" Naruto repeated with wide eyes. Sasori shook his head.

"That's not important right now," the man said before looking at the blonde with a serious face, "What are you doing all the way out here, Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, why aren't you at Konohagakure no Sato? And why in Kami's name were you near death?"

Naruto's eyes widened and instinctively he reached for his kunai, when Sasori continued, "Whoa, whoa, whoa there gaki. I'm only curious; your biju chakra was interrupting the procedure of inserting the CSC. Hench why your CSC glows red...I think. Besides...in case ya haven't noticed, I've completely stripped you of your weaponry...and clothes, but for medical purposes only!"

Naruto blinked and looked down at himself, finding the machinery in his chest to be fascinating and yet horrifying, before noticing he was only clad in his green boxers, which were a little soggy still.

"Y-You saved my life?" the blonde asked before looking up with suspicious eyes, flashing them red unintentionally, "Why?"

"Oh-ho, a boy who's figured out the secret to jinchuriki control, eh?" Sasori chuckled out, raising a hand in an effort to calm him, "Nothing like controlling you, trust me. Been without company for so long that I was just happy to have a chance to make a friend."

Naruto blinked in confusion and jumped out of his seat when a puppet in the far corner skittered along the floor and appeared next to the redheaded man. Sasori chuckled and patted the puppet on the head, "Ah, I'm sorry. Goliath, meet the Kyuubi Jinchuriki. Kyuubi-gaki, meet my favorite puppet, Goliath."

Naruto blinked as the puppet skittered to his side and rested its head on his lap, the tail waving in excitement. Hesitantly, the blonde placed his hand atop the puppet's head, shocked when it released a guttural purr and its tail thumped on the floor.

"Never seen a puppet like Goliath, 'ave ya?" Sasori asked with his head leaned back and his mouth open, before it turned into a smile, "Good! Means he's original. Can't have any copycats out there now can we?"

"N-No...I, um...I guess not-ah!" Naruto hissed and clenched his teeth while grabbing at his chest. Sasori acted quickly, sending Goliath to the side of the room before picking the blond up and assisting him in his short walk to the bunk.

"There's been far too much excitement for you, my young friend," Sasori murmured as he helped the blonde onto the bunk, "Rest. You're still recovering. You're going to need your full strength if you want to be able to be a shinobi once again."

"Ne? W-What do you-?" Naruto started to ask before a blanket was pulled over him and the redheaded man tucked the blonde teen in. A pat on the head was given by the slightly heat-stricken puppeteer master, and Naruto felt warmth grow in the pit of his heart. The blonde closed his eyes and yawned, succumbing to the exhaustion that was overcoming him. Before sleep fully claimed him, another familiar voice echoed in his mind.

_**Rest my container,**_ Kyuubi purred out, somehow making him feel at ease, _**For I have big plans that require you.**_

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><p><strong>~~Konohagakure no Sato, Hokage Office~~<strong>

"What do you mean you didn't find him?" Tsunade growled as she looked at the ANBU team that had been sent out to find Naruto. The ANBU commander, a man wearing a cat mask but named Tora, stepped forward.

"I looked as well as I could, but I couldn't even find a trace of the Kyuubi's chakra, Hokage-sama," Tora said, bowing his head, "I fear...the worst."

Tsunade frowned and waved her hand as she bowed her head, not allowing the tears threatening to show appear until she was alone with her pupil, Shizune, who stood at the side of the room with their pig, Ton-Ton, in her arms. The ANBU all bowed before vanishing in blurs, and Tsunade closed her eyes.

"Shizune...hold a memorial for the lost members of Team 7," the Godaime Hokage said as a tear fell before her eyes opened, narrowed in rage, "Because when I find that Uchiha, I'm going to kill him!"

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><p><strong>AN: Here it is, as promised! The Iron Man Naruto crossover I mentioned months ago! Sorry about that wait, BTW, had a lot of drama going on what with my brother starting Freshmen year, getting into college, ya know, stuff for my 'future'. Thanks for reading...**

**...NOW REVIEW, FOUL SWINE!**


	2. Suit Up!

**As I write this chapter, it made me realize just how I want this story to go. Rather than be humorous, I want people to see how I view Tony Stark/Naruto's burdens, as well as the burdens of their allies and friends. Not to mention, the only humor was Sasori, who in fact is my OOC version of him. More on that later, enjoy for now.**

**Disclaimer: *Beep* Hello, you have reached the office of TommyBAuthor93. TBA is sadly unavailable, and he would like to inform you, if you are a lawyer, that he does not own Naruto or any Marvel Likenesses. This is a reluctant admittance that you can reply to after the *BEEP***

**Iron De-Man**

**2: Suit Up!**

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><p>"S-So you're saying...Naruto didn't come back?" Kiba weakly asked as he stood in Neji's room with the rest of the failed Sasuke Retrieval Squad. Shikamaru sighed and nodded sadly, his emotions barely in check from what he was told earlier that day by his father. The rest of the SRS, a broken Lee, a beaten Kiba, a weak Neji, and a wheelchair-bound Choji looked down, fighting their own tears back.<p>

Kiba was the first to move to the door, and he left quietly saying, "I-I gotta go...check on Akamaru..."

Lee opted to stay with his teammate while Choji and Shikamaru made their way from the room, the normally lazy Nara wheeling the much thinner Akimichi back to his room. They passed Kiba's room as they did so, a quiet howl of pain coming from a distressed puppy and quiet sobs coming from a friend. Shikamaru bowed his head again before looking to the window after he wheeled Choji to his bed and helped his best friend climb into the hospital bed.

_I'm sorry Naruto..._Shikamaru thought as he hung his head when Choji's breathing evened out as he slept, _I...I'm sorry I called you troublesome...but you were...Heh. Now that I think about it, you, Kiba, Choji and I were all just troublesome brats...I never thought you'd be the first. Of all people...not you._

As the tears spilled from his eyes, the young chunin left the hospital, a subtle henge hiding his emotions from the village as he went to his home. Quietly, he entered his clan grounds, passing his dozing father without a word. He walked into the house and kicked his sandals off, dropping his henge as he did so. His mother, standing at the end of the hall, dropped her scowl as her son's appearance dropped from his usual lazy drawl to a deep depression.

"Shikamaru!" she exclaimed with worry as she went to her son, "Oh, sochi..."

"I-I'm sorry!" the young chunin wailed, not noticing his father enter the house and seal it off, as he let his mother hold him and he felt the after-effects of a failed mission gone horrible fully affect him. Shikaku frowned as he watched his son bawl like a child, but he couldn't argue that he hadn't the right to. Aside from the fact it was his first failed mission, Naruto was many things to the Nara clan, but as troublesome as he was, he was always a bright smile that kept the younger generation on their toes. Shikaku knew Shikamaru considered Naruto a close friend, and he would be lying if he said he lost a friend like that before. The Ino-Shika-Cho was still alive, but that didn't mean he hadn't lost friends. The pain his son felt was understood by the Shinobi Commander of Konohagakure no Sato.

It was understood all too well.

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><p>"So..." Naruto slowly spoke as he looked down at the tea in his cup that he held between both his hands, "...I can't...I can't use chakra?"<p>

The blonde had woken three days after his exertion and Sasori had given him the dim news. His chakra coils had, for lack of a better term, evaporated from using the fox's chakra. Not to mention the **Chidori** that was shoved in his chest probably was laced with malicious chakra, furthering the damage.

"Well, to be blunt, your reserves just stopped existing," Sasori said as he drank down some sake, "Which is amazing in itself! To think, you're the first Jinchuriki unable to use his own chakra...how do you feel with only the Kyuubi's chakra?"

"How the fuck do you think I feel?" Naruto growled as his eyes flashed red, the realization of it all hitting him. He glared at the smiling man across from him, furious that he was amused at his predicament. Sasori was a puppet master of the highest degree, probably already having seen his dream out, but Naruto was only thirteen! THIRTEEN! No shinobi he's heard of (aside from a certain green jump suit wearing shinobi) has ever managed to be a beneficial shinobi without chakra. Throw in the fact his taijutsu was horrible and he couldn't use genjutsu to save his own ass, ninjutsu was all he had! How was he supposed to be Hokage without Chakra?

"Well, from your tone I'd say you're pissed!" laughed out the puppeteer before he sighed and took another swig from the bottle. As he drank, he leaned to the right and avoided the cup of sake thrown at his head. The redheaded man scowled and slammed his bottle down, glaring at the infuriated blonde, before calmly speaking, "Don't. Do. That."

"What are ya gonna do, huh? What are you gonna do that hasn't already been done? Beat me? Stab me?" Naruto yelled, standing on his feet and glaring at the man, his eyes unknowingly flashing red. Goliath looked between the two from its corner, before curling into a ball and lightly rattling.

"Sit down," Sasori said after a moment of silence, his eyes losing the anger once behind them as he studied the blonde's face. He swore he saw something. There was something in the flash of red that spoke volumes to him despite only being a glimpse.

"Why?" the blonde snapped with narrowed eyes, not noticing the red eyes that flashed again. An idea came to Sasori, and he had to be crazy to even try it.

"Just do it," the puppeteer grit out. His patience was wearing thin. This boy was so stubborn, but he had an idea to what the blonde's real issue was. As soon as Naruto sat, Sasori gave the blonde another smile, making Naruto wonder if he was bipolar, before he poured a much larger glass of sake. When it was full, he gave the bottle to Naruto and took the glass.

Hesitantly, Naruto took the bottle and looked in it before sniffing it cautiously. Sasori scoffed in annoyance.

"Like I would poison you now!" he exclaimed before taking a gulp of his sake and pointed at the bottle, "Drink boy, you're gonna want to after I'm done talking."

Naruto wouldn't believe that man until much later when he looks back on his life and laughs in agreement.

* * *

><p>"Kaasan...I'm home..." Kiba quietly said as he walked into the room, his fur-like jacket open and revealing his bandaged chest. Akamaru was in his arms, whimpering and depressed much like his partner. When no reply was heard, Kiba thanked Kami for the privacy and made an instant turn towards his room. He had a lot to think about and he wasn't in the mood to be ridiculed by his mother or sister for being bummed out. The young Inuzuka heir's door slammed shut and a pair of pained howls echoed in the room.<p>

* * *

><p>"Listen brat," Sasori said, pouring more sake for himself, "You may not be able to use chakra...but you've still got Yokai."<p>

"Oi! I'm no homo!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, an angry blush on his face as he recalled an incident with his former teammate. Sasori paused and snickered.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," the redhead teased before cutting Naruto's rebuttal off with a wave of his hand, "I said _Yokai_, not Yaoi! Ero-Konohagakure Gaki...I swear...Yokai is the Kyuubi's chakra."

Naruto blinked then frowned, "I don't understand...I thought the Kyuubi was made of chakra?"

Sasori smiled and drank some sake before he spoke again in the same manner as a sensei, "Yokai is demonic aura, much like how chakra is human physical/mental aura. The difference between the two is slim, which is why most humans believe biju are made of chakra. Most jinchuriki, unlike yourself apparently, are pulled aside and separated from peers, trained and honed to be weapons. They're taught the same thing, so it's now a common belief...even to the biju."

"But...But Gaara used to be crazy! He thought his demon was his mother!" the blonde countered with confusion. Sasori scratched the side of his head.

"Then I've, err, been out of touch with recent training regarding jinchuriki," the puppeteer admitted before he returned to his carefree notion, "Anyway, this isn't true. Chakra and Yokai are like um...well, they're like water and oil in a way. Water and oil are both liquids and both do not harm us if contacting the skin unless their temperature isn't normal, yes?"

Seeing Naruto's nod, Sasori continued, "Well, we can't drink them both. Water is necessary for our survival, but if someone drank oil...well, let's just say they'll wish they hadn't. Same applies to Yokai and Chakra. When shinobi use chakra, hardly any harm can come from using their chakra, right?"

"Um...yes?" Naruto said, his response sounding rather confused and lost. Sasori sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Ok, straight to the point then as I'm losing you," he grumbled to himself before looking at the teen, "Your chakra is gone, phht, kaput, empty, etc. Before it was gone and you used the Kyuubi's Yokai, the seal left on you by the Yondaime acted as a filter. It filtered the harmful powers of the demon's essence and filled you with pure chakra...hateful, but pure."

"How does this matter?" the blonde asked, looking down at the red orb swirling in his chest. He tapped on it once out of boredom before looking back at the puppeteer.

"I'm getting there!" Sasori waved off the question before continuing, "Just shut up and listen! Your seal's filter was powered by one thing; your chakra. It's gone now, though."

"Thanks for reminding me...again," Naruto grumbled as he looked at the bottle to his left and idly poked it. Sasori smacked a stick on his head before dropping it to the ground, earning the now annoyed blonde's attention.

"If you'll shut up and listen, you'll get what I'm saying!" Sasori snarled, making the blonde recoil, "Good! Now if we were to find a way to _filter_ the Yokai through your system, which I know a way, you could retain all skills as a shinobi."

"What's the way? Tell me!" Naruto shouted, excitement and hope in his eyes. He earned another smack on the head and sat down, cradling his skull with a groan, before glaring up at the amused redhead and asking, "You're starting to enjoy this, aren't you?"

"Very much," Sasori confirmed with a smirk, earning muttered curses from the blonde, before he chuckled and patted the young preteen Jinchuriki's shoulder, "Oh relax, gaki! Now, to make this work, I have to alter your CSC slightly. I also have an idea..."

"What?" Naruto asked cautiously. Sasori grinned.

"How much do you know about forging with metal?" the puppeteer asked. Naruto furrowed his brows in confusion, making the puppeteer's smile grow.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Naruto found himself cursing his newfound master as he worked in a forge that the puppeteer had deep beneath the opening of his small hole. The blonde worked hard as he lifted the metal mallet in his gloved hand to slam it down on a glowing piece of armor nearly as long as his forearm. The young jinchuriki paused and dragged the back of his gloved hand over his forehead to clear it of sweat.<p>

"Don't stop, Naruto-kun!" Sasori called from his own forging area, making the blonde groan as he resumed working. He had an easier job, in Naruto's opinion anyway, and was constantly drawing on a sketch pad. What he was drawing, Sasori wouldn't say. When the blonde had inquired as to what he was drawing, the puppeteer merely smiled and said, "That'd ruin the surprise, my young friend."

Finally, Naruto had had enough. He slammed the hammer down angrily on the metal just as it finished cooling and he chucked the curved metal at Sasori's feet, making the S-ranked nuke-nin look up from his project. The blonde pulled his gloves off and then ditched the white shirt drenched in sweat, revealing his red glowing 'heart'.

"I'm done! There! I curved the metal," the blonde snarled, going to a cooler and grabbing a bottle of water. Sasori blinked and picked the metal up, examining it for a moment before shrugging and chucking it behind him into the furnace. Naruto, seeing this, dropped his water bottle in shock.

"WHAT THE HELL?" he cried, confused, exhausted, and utterly pissed at the older shinobi's action, "I've been working on that for almost four hours! Why'd ya do that?"

"I did that because you passed," Sasori said, making the blonde frown in confusion even more. The puppeteer smiled and stood, hiding the picture under his arm, before he spoke, "Because of your...predicament, I have successfully developed a countermeasure to your, um..."

"Lack of chakra?" Naruto suggested, his voice seeming annoyed. He hadn't been enjoying the fact he doesn't have chakra anymore. The fact the Kyuubi kept trying to cheer him up about it didn't help.

_**"Poor Naru-chan...Don't fret my Kit,"**_ cooed the demon from the back of his head, _**"I believe your new acquaintance has found something that will surely help you get even with that **_**Uchiha...**_**"**_

Ignoring the Fox's soothing, which made the blonde snort at the thought of the demon trying to soothe him, Naruto looked expectantly at the redhead puppeteer as he nodded, "Not what I wanted to say, but if you want to be blunt...Anyway, that little orb keeping you alive does much more than I expected. It acts as a filter for the yokai flowing through your veins...only, instead of converting yokai to chakra; it seems to be making your chakra coils become more tolerant to your demon's essence. However, it's not protecting your skin, so if you used it in a fight, you'd be dead within ten minutes...that is, if you didn't already die by your opponent's hand."

"Oi!" Naruto cried in annoyance, "Cut to the chase ya old buzzard!"

Sasori laughed at the insult before flipping his drawing pad around and showing it to the boy. Naruto's eyes widened as he looked over the drawing. It was of a grey, iron-looking bipedal fox. A large sectioned tail came from the back while the clawed feet and hands looked similar to that of the two Demon Brothers of the Mist's gauntlets he had seen long ago. The mask looked like Kakashi's only a metal helm covering it had fangs jutting over the cloth (as Sasori had indicated the part to be made from with a line) and gave the humanoid face a more demonic appeal. The entire sketched head reminded him of some of the Oto Nin's attire from the Oto/Suna invasion, the eyes being uncovered while two large ears beginning where he assumed his ears dropped curved up and out, looking much like a fox's. The torso was lithe and had a revealed circle, revealing the red circle that was his heart.

"Whoa..." Naruto said with a slacked jaw, "That's...That's...so freakin cool, Dattebayo..."

Sasori laughed at that and hung the image on the wall before putting his hands on his hips in pride, "I know. I designed it."

"What's it for?" Naruto asked, looking over the image with a curious face. Sasori grinned and put a hand on the blonde jinchuriki's shoulder.

"That..." the esteemed puppeteer said with a grin, "Is going to be your suit of armor."

Naruto furrowed his brows and looked up at him. Sasori grinned down and began to explain, "Well, if you're going to use your Biju's yokai, you'd like to live afterwards, right?"

"Yeah...Oh! This armor is gonna be like a filter?" Naruto asked, realizing the importance of the red lines decorating the armor. His eyes shined with excitement and Sasori grinned down at him.

"Bingo! Now, if we do this right with no mistakes, we can have your armor ready within the month," the redhead said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them, "Let's get to it!"

A month passed and as Sasori predicted, they were done forging and preparing the suit. Sasori had also taken time from the week to increase the young blonde's knowledge of the world. Naruto had stubbornly fought the fact that Konohagakure no Sato wasn't all peace and prosperity like he thought, making the lessons a bit longer than the puppeteer would have liked, but eventually, Naruto succumbed to reason. He learned that Greed drives most men, Power only further corrupts them, and the most important lesson of his life: Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.

Not to mention the blonde discovered he had a gift when it came to drawing seals. He had already drawn a few sealing tattoos on his arms, legs, and chest, although he had to have Sasori draw one on his back. At the base of his head on the back of his neck was another tattoo, a swirl of multiple kanji for when he would store the armor's helmet.

Needless to say, the first attempt at syncing the armor to his yokai didn't end well. In fact, all it did was shoot the pieces of armor from his body, scattering them and shattering many of Sasori's scavenged puppets. The redheaded puppeteer had a small shit fit and left the cave for an hour to destroy a small village.

The second attempt went better, but it still ended in disaster. Mainly that his armor remained stuck to his body for an additional forty-five minutes. Naruto wasn't pleased with that. Especially since he had to use the toiletries.

Finally, they succeeded in their goal. Naruto stood opposite of Sasori and Goliath while standing outside of the cave. He had seals decorating his whole body, similar to Sasuke's cursed seal, only they would spawn from his chest rather than his neck, and rather than fading from red into black, the marks would glow from red to a golden yellow. Sasori opened his notebook and reviewed the notes he had written the day before. The blonde grinned and slammed his hands together in the Ram seal, his voice echoing as he exclaimed, "**Seisou Suru (Suit Up)!**"

Sasori stared as the markings spread from Naruto's CSC the same as the day before. The yellow markings glowed brightly, and had he not been accustomed to the sunlight, he would have been blinded by the released energy. The puppeteer grinned as the black humanoid fox flexed his claws, the red eyes beneath the helm glowing brightly as Naruto tapped into his tenant's yokai.

"_I could definitely get used to this!_" Naruto exclaimed from beneath his armor. The cooling seals that kept him from overheating worked, had they not, he would be a very unhappy camper. The blonde grinned as he went through the normal start-up sequences, "_Ok, Kyuubi-baka. You wanna make points right? Give me the Head's Up!_"

_**"Of course Naru-chan!"**_ The demoness chimed in the back of his mind as holographic images imbedded themselves in his head, _**"You have auto-targeting systems, a design Sasori-kun had thought up, as well as multiple storage seals for projectiles in your forearms, hands, and a rather nasty set of claws, as you know. While using this suit, you can safely access the equivalent of three tails of my yokai. Your speed, senses, and reflexes are enhanced as you and Sasori-kun designed them, but I modified them slightly to further your success rate. I told you before; I won't stand for a weak container!"**_

Naruto scoffed and rolled his neck before settling in a crouched stance as he looked at Sasori, "_All right then. Sasori-sensei! Get the clock ready!_"

Sasori grinned and pulled a stopwatch out. He held a hand up and looked at the armored boy before he spoke, "Remember: Suna's gates and back, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto nodded and he crouched down like a fox would, his hands flattening into the sand and his toes arching like the hind leg of a quadruped animal (or a fox). The large four inch wide, three foot long tail swaying in anticipation. The red eyes narrowed as a bead of sweat went down the side of his head.

"GO!"

* * *

><p>The sound of an explosion was heard nearly fifteen miles away, where three Suna chunin were walking near their home. A boy with red hair and black circles around his eyes snapped his head in the sound's direction and a small smile crossed his face.<p>

"Gaara?" the blonde girl with her hair pulled back into ponytails said; concern in her voice. Gaara looked at his elder siblings and he locked his green eyes on them. Temari and Kankuro were both distraught with the loss of the blonde genin that had rescued him a month prior, but both were still acting strong for his sake. He released a tear the day Tsunade informed them of Naruto's 'death', and he hadn't spoken since.

For the first time in nearly a month, the two Suna chunin saw happiness and hope reflecting in the eyes of their younger brother. They were confused by it, but the confusion left when Gaara looked back at the sight of an approaching silhouette, clouds of sand billowing behind it as it dashed towards them.

A gust of wind past them and the two elder siblings had to shield their eyes as sand flew around. The young redhead stood in place and his smile grew when his eyes met with two red glowing ones as the gust returned, only this time coming from the opposite direction.

"It seems," the Ichibi jinchuriki began stoically, earning his brother and sister's attention, "That Naruto is still alive."

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><p><strong>AN: AND I'M BAAAAACK! Enjoy it! Love it! I DON'T CARE! REVIEW BITCHES! REVIEW!<strong>


	3. The Iron Demon

**Disclaimer: *Beep* Hello, you have reached the office of TommyBAuthor93. TBA is sadly unavailable, and he would like to inform you, if you are a lawyer, that he does not own Naruto or any Marvel Likenesses. This is a reluctant admittance that you can reply to after the *BEEP***

**Iron DeMan**

**3: The Iron Demon**

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><p>Naruto looked over the schematics for his armor within his cavern that Sasori had made in his home, his right gauntlet out of it's normal seal and set on an anvil. He had cracked it in a training session a few hours ago, and now was trying to fix it on his own. After the successful test of his Mk one armor's speed a month ago, he began focusing on the defensive and offensive capabilities.<p>

_**"****Naru-chan, your gauntlet's fracture is a few millimeters in depth but its barely visible,"**_ Kyuubi said through their link, almost confused.

_Yes, but one weakness in my armor is a weakness nonetheless..._the young blonde armorer replied before tossing a hammer from one hand to the other as he heated the gauntlet up with a furnace. Naruto mentally counted to sixteen before he grabbed the nearby tongs to get his gauntlet out. He set the glowing glove onto the anvil and lightly tapped on the crack, sealing it with ease. Quickly, he grabbed two clamps and put them on the gauntlet to ensure the seal would stick.

"Hey Uzu-Gaki!" Sasori greeted as he and Goliath came down to the forge where Naruto was making his second home. The blonde preteen turned, his red orb pulsing slightly with each pant he took due to the heat, and quickly caught the bottle of water he was thrown. Sasori flicked the bottle of sake in his hand open and quickly took a swig. Swallowing, he looked to his apprentice and said, "We've got visitors."

* * *

><p>Gaara took in his surroundings as he sat in the Puppeteer Hermit's home. The walls were covered in sketches and metal appendages. Gaara snorted as he realized something, <em>Kankuro would love it here...<em>

"Ah-ha! See, I told you we had guests!" the familiar voice of their host called out, making the redheaded Jinchuriki look up. The first thing he came eye to eye with was a shirtless teen blonde, wearing only a ragged and soot-covered pair of orange pants. Directly in the center of the teen's chest was a glowing red orb.

"Gaara?" the teen asked before rubbing his blackened face to clear it of soot, "Gaara is that you?"

Gaara stood and gave his friend a small smile, "Uzumaki."

A sudden fist made of sand socked Naruto, making the blonde fly back and slam into the wall. Warning alarms went off in Naruto's head thanks to his newfound connection with his demon and he groaned, rubbing his cheek where his was hit. He pushed the limb that he had knocked off the wall on impact away from his midsection and brushed himself off.

"Ok, I deserved that I guess..." the blonde groaned out as he stood. He pushed his hands into his back and sighed as he heard several pops. Naruto gave a grin to the redheaded Suna Nin, "How've ya been, Gaara?"

"...I've been well, Uzumaki." The stoic teen replied with a small smile before he frowned, "The Uchiha went to Orochimaru."

Naruto's smile fell into a scowl and he abruptly went back towards the furnace. Without another word, the steel door was slammed shut and locked. Sasori frowned.

"Guess he's still a bit angry over that..." the puppeteer mused before beaming and clapping a hand on Gaara's shoulder, "Now! Tell me why those fools at the Council want me to be the Kazekage..."

* * *

><p>"DAMMIT!" Naruto roared as he tossed the anvil his gauntlet was on at the furnace. The gauntlet fell to the ground with a clatter and the fires in the furnace engulfed the anvil. The blonde's eyes were a blood red, the same as his chest, and his fists were clenched tight enough to draw blood from his hands.<p>

_**"****Naruto. You need to calm yourself, Kit,"**_ the Biju within him cautioned. Naruto panted and gripped a scrap rail tightly, crushing the bar within his grip. He fell to his right knee and put a hand over his CSC, his teeth gritting tightly as his eyes clenched shut.

He awoke within his mindscape, staring up at the disguised demon that was smirking down at him. The Kyuubi crouched down, her arms crossing under her impressive bust as her eyes met his.

**"I told you to calm down,"** she said tauntingly. Naruto scowled and pushed himself to his feet before approaching her cage bars and staring the woman in the eye.

"Why should I? That bastard got away..." Naruto swore under his breath, "And I still have that damn promise..."

The Kyuubi frowned, **"You're going to hold onto the oath that nearly killed you?"**

The blonde looked up with narrowed eyes, "Yeah, well, I promised...And Uzumaki Naruto keeps his promises, dattebayo."

**"That's five,"** Kyuubi said with a smirk, making the blonde swore under his breath, before she continued, **"But yes, I guess I can see where you're coming from, a demon's oath is stronger than blood ties."**

Naruto's scowl turned into a look of confusion, making the Biju chuckle before she continued with, **"Where do you think you got that ridiculous 'I always keep my promises' thing? Certainly not from how you were raised, Kit. Because of my presence within your body **_**and**_** your soul, you received one of my admittedly least favorable traits...Honor Bound."**

"So what does that mean?" Naruto asked with a frown, "I have to take the Teme back to Sakura-ch-OW! Did you just hit me?"

The Kyuubi placed a hand on her chest in mock offense, **"Why, Kit, I'm hurt. I'm stuck behind these bars, remember?"**

Naruto was too busy glaring at the woman to notice a tendril of red chakra seeping back into the cage. Kyuubi's smirk widened and she crossed her arms once again before she looked at the blonde in front of her, **"Anyway, the Honor Bound is the term for a demon's oath, swearing on our power to fulfill a duty. However, I would suppose your little human mind couldn't think of those at a young age, so you substituted swearing on your power with promises."**

"Oh...That makes sense..." Naruto said with a nod before looking around, "Man...this place is a dump. I should really get my mind out of the gutter..."

Kyuubi arched her brow at the tasteless joke, **"Well if you don't like it, change it."**

Naruto furrowed his brows and the Biju rolled her ruby orbs, **"It's **_**your**_** mindscape, Kit. I can't do a thing in here..."**

The blonde smacked himself in the face, "Duh..."

He closed his eyes and relaxed, picturing the forests surrounding Konoha, and slowly the dark sewer shimmered into a forest, Kyuubi's cage becoming a large, dark cave with bars over the entrance. The demon looked around with awe before looking down at the blonde. Naruto's blue eyes opened and he grinned cockily at the Biju, "Well?"

**"It's nice...But it'd be better if I could actively enjoy it,"** she replied with a pout, **"Can you fix that, Kit? I'd **_**really**_** like it if you did..."**

Naruto scratched the back of his neck with uncertainty, "Um...maybe? Let me talk to Sasori-sensei and see what he thinks. Giving you too much too fast might be asking for trouble."

**"You're getting too smart,"** Kyuubi whined before smirking as the blonde faded away, **"Soon you'll be ready, Naruto-kun...Soon."**

"Good, you're up!" Sasori said with a smile as the blonde sputtered awake, his upper body dripping wet from the cold wake up call the puppeteer master had given him, "Pack your suit, boy. We're going to Suna!"

"I. Hate. The. Desert," Naruto grumbled out as he trudged along behind an impassive Gaara and Sasori. The hermit was riding atop Goliath with crossed legs, dressed in baggy pants and a blood red sash, different from his usual slacks and apron that the blonde was used to seeing him in. Naruto was also in different clothes, mainly a spare set of Gaara's, but had forgone his friend's shirts, deciding to wear his white tank top that allowed his CSC to be visible.

"Stop whining, gaki!" Sasori growled to the boy before his attitude flipped and he lovingly patted his puppet on the head, "You're scaring Goliath."

Naruto rolled his eyes and looked down at the lightly chattering puppet, "Sorry G."

The scorpion gave a rolling chatter-like sound back to the blonde, who smiled slightly before looking at Gaara, "That reminds me, what happened to you guys after the Chunin exams, Gaara?"

Gaara looked at his friend blankly before a small smile appeared on his face, "Temari-neechan was made a chunin, while Kankuro and I were made Tokubetsu chunin. It's the equivalent of being on a waiting list. As such, I am a teacher at the new Sunagakure no Sato academy, and a pupil of mine is waiting for our return."

Naruto blinked at the thought of Gaara teaching before he grinned, "That's awesome, Gaara. How's your _problem_ been?"

"Shukaku has become less bothersome if that's what you mean," the Ichibi's Jinchuriki replied quietly as he looked forward, "Godaime-sama sent the Gama Sennin out to Suna a few months ago to assess my seal. Only a few weeks ago had he modified it to silence the tanuki's whispers, though I still hear its screams sometimes..."

_**"****Remind me to have a long talk with Shukaku, Kit..."**_ Kyuubi intoned making the blonde nod. A tendril of sand tapped Naruto's shoulder and the blonde looked at his friend with a bit of confusion.

"The item in your chest...what is it, exactly?" Gaara asked curiously. Naruto blinked before a scowl came over his normally cheerful features. The blonde shook the look off his face, deciding that Gaara had a right to know of his...problem.

Naruto tapped the CSC, "This is my new heart, but Sasori-sensei calls it a Chakra Stabilizing Converter. After my fight with Sasuke-teme, my...original chakra source burnt out from overuse. If I had been left alone, I would have become unstable and died."

"Or worse, we don't know!" Sasori cheerfully chimed in, before cupping his chin, "But now I wonder..."

"Oi! I'm not your personal science project, Sasori-sensei!" Naruto shouted to the mad puppeteer, who waved him off. Naruto released an irritated growl before he continued, "Anyway, my CSC acts like a filter to keep Kyuubi's influence from getting to strong, but her chakra is still potent enough to hurt me, hence why I made my armor."

"...Armor?" Gaara intoned curiously. Naruto looked at his friend before grinning mischievously and came to a stop. Holding his hands in a ram seal, the blonde looked at his friend and warned, "Step back..."

Gaara did as he was warned, but a look of curiosity adorned his face as the blonde rolled his shoulders while his hands remained in the Ram seal.

"**Seisoru Suru!**" Naruto called before the seals that covered his body became visible and the armor he wore before returned. The bulk had been cut away and the form had become slimmer, and the tail that was once four feet now was an impressive six. Naruto crouched forward as his feet were forced into an arch-like shape, like that of a canine, and set his arms out to the side to retain his balance.

"_So what do you think, Gaara?_" Naruto asked as he looked at his friend with his red eyes. Gaara was slack-jawed, to say the least. Before him stood a frightening visage, but the stance it had was one of protection, not of aggression. The Ichibi Jinchuriki walked around the armored Jinchuriki before stopping in front of him.

"Its...very impressive, Uzumaki," Gaara said with a nod before his attention went to his left, which was their east, "Something's wrong. There's a large source of chakra being manipulated in the air to our east."

"Hm, the only thing to our east is a village," Sasori mused, concentrating on the area, "A small civilian one, hardly any shinobi reside there due to the Daimyo's cutbacks..."

"_Nuke-nins?_" Naruto suggested. Gaara nodded in agreement.

"That's the most likely scenario," the Suna Tokubetsu Chunin agreed, looking at the armored blonde, "Shall we?"

"_Let me, I still have to test the combat capabilities of this armor,_" Naruto said as he flexed his claws. The red-eyed blonde looked at his redheaded friend, "_Race ya?_"

Gaara's smile turned into a smirk, "You know that I'm not made for speed. I'm more of a defensive fighter."

"_Sorry, it's hard to remember that when the last time I saw you fight you were smacking me around with your sand,_" Naruto joked, getting a snort from the redhead. The armored fox crouched to all fours and said, "_I'll check it out. Keep going to Suna, with Sasori-sensei. This shouldn't take long._"

He dashed away with a large cloud of sand shooting up behind him, making Sasori cough while Gaara openly chuckled. His friend would make a good addition to Sunagakure, and if so, he would push for the instant promotion to Chunin. Uzumaki deserved that much, at least.

* * *

><p>"Shit, MOVE INO!" A teen with a pineapple-like hairstyle shouted to a ponytailed blonde girl, who leapt to the right of a descending slice. The girl wore a purple skirt and shirt over her taped body, white armguards were on both of her arms, covering from her wrist to the elbow. Around her stomach was the headband belonging to Konohagakure no Sato.<p>

Ino, the girl who had evaded a sword just barely, felt her eyes widen as the older and more skilled woman attacking her and her friend lifted her sword into the air. The woman smirked and lifted her blade, "Ready to die for a person not of your village? You're so pathetic."

Her sword came down and Ino screamed, but before any connection was made, a bestial roar broke through the clearing. The four people within took notice of the racing blur, and only one of them recognized it.

_Gaara...Is that him, is that Uzumaki?_ Temari found herself wondering, recalling the way her brother had claimed the blur was his missing friend. The chunin didn't have enough time to wonder anymore because the blur had shot past her and stopped the descending blade with an extended arm.

"_You know, a guy could think you were trying to hurt someone with that thing,_" a young man's voice joked. Shikamaru, Ino, and Temari were wide eyed at the voice, while the woman, who went by the name of Kujaku, scowled and struggled against the armored nin's arm.

"Who are you?" she asked through clenched teeth, "Another of the Five?"

The armored shinobi barked out a laugh and his large, foxlike head shook in amusement from side to side. His head lifted and Kujaku found herself staring into the angriest red eyes she had ever seen.

"_I belong to no nation,_" he replied before he growled, "_I fight for my friends, and lady, you just attacked three of em!_"

He backhanded Kujaku away from Ino, sending the woman skidding towards the river. The armored nin turned to look at his friend, who was showing fear at the armor he wore. Realizing this, Naruto whispered, "**Helm, Fuin**."

Ino watched in shock as the head of her savior glowed momentarily before vanishing, leaving a smiling red-eyed blonde that reminded her of a certain loudmouth. Three whisker-marks were on both cheeks, but they were thicker, and far more feral than before. The similarities were frightening, so frightening that she couldn't stop the quiet question that escaped her lips, "N-Naruto?"

Naruto beamed, "Hey Ino, how's it goin?"

"NARUTO!" She exclaimed in joy at seeing a fellow Konoha shinobi, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug, "You big baka! Where have you been?"

Naruto arched a brow as he slightly stood upright with Ino hanging off him. The blonde went to respond, but his demon gained his attention; _**"Naruto! Get out of the way!"**_

Trusting the Kyuubi in her warning, the blonde wrapped his arms around the girl hugging him and dove to the side as a large gust of wind shot past them. Naruto dislodged Ino from her spot hugging him and jumped to his feet.

Kujaku scowled in anger and prepared her sword, "Damn you! Die Konohagakure brat!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed and his helmet reappeared as he dashed forward, his thoughts going to his Biju, _Ok, how do I stop this psycho? Put her down for good?_

"_**Your weapons are online, but using them cuts into the active tails I can lend you. Try slicing her apart, but if that doesn't work use your weapons."**_

_You got it,_ Naruto thought back as he brought his claw back, "_Eat this! _**Tetsu no Tsume (Iron Claw)**!"

The blonde's right hand caught some of his foe's clothing in his attack, shredding her shirt and revealing a bound chest. Ignoring the sight, only just, Naruto flipped forward and continued, "**Tetsuo (Iron Tail)**!"

The long tail came forward and the broad width of it smacked hard against Kujaku's left cheek, sending the woman to the ground with a loud cry. Naruto smirked and landed on his feet, his tail waving slowly in almost amusement as he watched his opponent.

"Naruto..." Ino whispered in awe. Shikamaru was wide eyed as his friend almost played with their strong foe, whom had outsmarted him and matched Temari blow for blow. When had Naruto become so strong? And why was he wearing such a frightening appearance? Did it have to do with his being a Jinchuriki? These were many questions that Shikamaru wanted to ask.

"_Give up? It's your last chance before I become serious,_" Naruto said, testing his opponent with his newfound strategic mindset.

Kujaku's head snapped up and she glared, "You will not stop me, you...you...you demon!"

Naruto's eyes flashed a brighter red and a low growl escaped his throat. He failed to see his friends shiver at his vocal disapproval of her words and aimed his palm at her. His voice took on a demonic tint and he snarled, **"**_**A demon, eh? Fine then. I will show you the 'demon'. I will make sure it's quick...**__**Biju-sen**__**.**_**"**

Red energy shined from the small circle in his palm, shooting out in a straight beam at the woman before him. She was struck instantly in the center of her head, a small inch-wide circle being the only sign of the demonic-armored blonde's attack. The woman fell back with her eyes wide, and gave a death rattle as the life faded from her eyes.

Naruto huffed his exhaustion away and sealed his helmet away, as it peeled back with a metallic click. The red glow in his eyes faded away and the blonde ran his gauntleted hand through his hair before looking at the fan using Sabaku with an arched brow. She was staring at him with the same awe that Ino and Shikamaru were, but there was something else in her eyes.

Something that frankly kind of worried him...

"Uh...T-Temari-chan?" Naruto asked with a hint of uncertainty before finding himself eating sand and the back of his head swelling from the blow. Temari stood over him in a post-striking position with her fan folded up and tears in her eyes.

"YOU FRIGGIN' ASS!" She screamed at him, grabbing the collar of his armor and pulling him to his knees as she shook him (as well as she could anyway), before she continued to yell, "YOU MADE MY BROTHER CRY DAMMIT!"

As she paused to catch her breath and get more energy to shake him, Naruto shook his head before furrowing his brows, "...I wonder if that's why he punched me..."

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><p><strong>AN: Yeah, I'm back and I got a new chap for the ID, and if you're reading this message, you are preparing for the most important mission of your life...<strong>

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